Tillis: NC coal ash bill could rise from the dead

RALEIGH — Top Republicans at the North Carolina Legislature are signaling they are close to a last-minute deal reviving a measure that aims to force Duke Energy to curb pollution from its 33 coal ash dumps scattered across the state.

House Speaker Thom Tillis said Tuesday a new version of the coal ash bill could emerge from committee in time for a vote on Wednesday, shortly before he says the chamber intends to adjourn for the year. Negotiations between the House and Senate attempting to reconcile their competing versions of the bill broke down in late July.

GOP leaders say passage of a coal ash clean-up plan is among their top legislative priorities. A spill from a Duke plant in February coated 70 miles of the Dan River in toxic sludge.